Fantasy Football: Key tips as Premier League season about to get underway

Attention all Insurance Times Fantasy Football League managers – there are just a few hours left to lock in your team for the upcoming Premier League season.

The season kicks-off at 8pm this evening (16 August 2024), with Manchester United taking on Fulham at Old Trafford for the first game.

Managers have until 6.30pm tonight to create their fantasy teams – ahead of this deadline, Insurance Times is providing some tips to help competitors select their players.

Haaland or Salah – or both?

There is no doubt that having Erling Haaland and Mo Salah in your team would be beneficial, given their very high points scores in recent seasons.

However, with Haaland costing 15m and Salah 12.5m, it makes it much harder to fit other good options into your team if you have both.

For example, there is Arsenal’s Saka for 10m, Tottenham’s Solanke and Son for 7.5m and 10m, Chelsea’s Palmer for 10.5m and Newscastle’s Isak for 8.5m – the list can go on and on.

It’s very likely that some of these players and others would have to be scrapped to fit both Haaland and Salah, while having one gives you a better chance of fitting more premium players into your team.

Or will you go without Salah and Haaland? It is a risk given their high points scores, but could be an appraoch that pays off.

Budget players

Don’t forget about players who are not as expensive! Just because they don’t have a high price tag doesn’t mean they won’t bag you returns.

For example, last season Palmer started at 5m, but went onto secure a massive 244 points during the campaign.

There are plenty of good picks to choose from, such as Fulham’s Smith Rowe for 5.5m, Chelsea’s Nkunku for 6.5m and Crystal Palace’s Eze for 7m

Not a sprint

Remember, the season is a marathon not a sprint. Therefore, it is key to select a team that is optimised for the next few game weeks.

Doing this makes it less likely that managers will have to use the one free transfer they are given each week. And remember, if you don’t use your free transfer, it will be carried into the next game week.

And when changes need to be made later down the line, having all those free transfers banked could be key in helping you secure more points over rivals. You can accumulate up to five free transfers.